For første gang i over et år skulle jeg på morgenobs på Grenen, hvor Knud Pedersen formentlig allerede sad og ventede på den traditionelle romsnegl i forbindelse med min ankomst og start på en periode heroppe.

Rådhusbagerens romsnegle har ikke sin lige i det ganske land: På størrelse med en freesbee, næsten lige så høj og voldsomt indsukret i et orgie af flormelis og romessens. Glædeligt gensyn med Knud og romsneglen!

Det blev ikke til meget mere. Ved 10.30 tiden haltede jeg ind og fik bidraget til en anden Skagensmyte: Når der kommer hvidnæbbet lom er der med sikkerhed altid nogen som kommer to minutter for sent eller (som jeg) er gået for to minutter siden.....

Sebastian Klein meldte igen topskarv fra havnen. Oluf Lou kom og hilste på og medbragte kage, således vi kun havde tre kager at vælge imellem. Ellers var dagen behersket og præget af hård vind fra sydvest, som dog lagde sig om eftermiddagen og gav anledning til et fangstforsøg af skovsneppe forsøg igen om aftenen. Som i går to skovsnepper: Den ene alt for vaks for fangst og den anden lidt for vaks.

Sydnorge meldte om perleugle i større mængder, og Simon satte net op om aftenen. Det gav 0 fugle og meget sen middag.

Ringmærkning:

Spurvehøg   1

Rødhals          1

Solsort            1

Sortmejse       1

Dompap         2

I alt:               6

Medvirkende: Erik Kramshøj, Oluf Lou, Jørgen Kabel, Knud Pedersen, Sebastian Klein og Simon S. Christiansen

Ung spurvehøg fra mogenens ringmærkning

Oluf og Erik i samtale over en kop kaffe

Efter at have været tvunget ud i rekonvalscens i  et halvt år, er mit bevægelsesmønster nået så langt, at jeg med min længste fuglepause nogensinde og den længste pause fra Skagen i omkring 15 år som klodset ballast kunne komme herop og opleve den sidste efterårsmåned på Skagen Fuglestation. Nok i et noget nedsat tempo og gakket gangart; men i det mindste med mulighed for at bevæge mig lidt rundt, og i det mindste sidde stille og tælle træk nogle timer om dagen.

Tirsdag blev nu en noget våd indledning: regnvejr uden ophold i alle døgnets lyse timer. Lidt held i uheld, da Simon og jeg havde nogle indledende praktiske planer,  som skulle foretages, diskuteres og udmøntes vedr. mit ophold. Desuden skulle jeg også i gang med den Skagensbog, som har ligget stille stort set hele 2018 på grund af mit benuheld (mildt sagt). Altså: En praktisk dag, som kun blev afbrudt af en meddelelse fra Sebastian Klein om en topskarv, som lå ved havnens vestmole på klos hold ved stensætningen. Den måtte jeg reagere på, og da jeg nåede frem var Sebastian stadig på plads, og kunne udpege stedet  med et par meters nøjagtighed. Han var klædt på til lejligheden. Det var jeg ikke. Jeg for ud af bilen og op på molegangen, så fuglen så godt som man nu kan se sådan en i styrtregn. og blev i løbet af 4-5 minutter totalt gennemblødt. I mellemtiden havde Sebastian fundet en anden topskarv uden for fyret. Måske skulle jeg bare ha' stukket hovedet ud af vinduet.

Mia Rasmussen fra Fjerritslev, som er dyrepasser, kom på besøg om eftermiddagen, og blev inviteret med på ketcherfangst af skovsnepper på Bankes Marker (Batteriskoven) da det var blevet mørkt, sammen med Simon og Jørgen Kabel (jeg holdt mig i baggrunden). To fugle sås, 0 blev mærket. Men det bør prøves igen.

Under aftensmaden blev der fortalt anekdoter, ikke mindst fra Island fra vores besøgende, inden hun kørte hjemad igen. Hyggeligt besøg som forhåbentlig bliver gentaget.

Dagens medvirkende: Simon Christiansen, Mia Rasmussen, Sebastian Klein, Jørgen Kabel og Erik Kramshøj

Efter morgenmaden i dag gik Gustav en tur ud at se på fugle. Alle forlod fuglestationen omkring 9.30, hvor vi satte Gustav af på vejen sydover. Mandag kommer Simon tilbage fra Gedser og Erik Kramshøj bliver indlogeret et måneds tid.

Vi kom godt hjem til Sjælland. En uge på Skagen Fuglestation er forbi, en dejlig uge. Vi har set mange fugle som vi ikke har set før. Ved ikke om vi har været heldige, men en uge sammen med Simon, Sarah, James og Gustav har været super god. Vi er taknemlige over at have oplevet sådan en uge.

Det kan klart anbefales at leje Skagen Fuglestation hvis man er til natur og fugle!

Lørdag morgen kørte vi Sarah og James til toget, og tog morgenbrød med hjem til drengene, Gustav og hans kammerat Kenni. Vi var lige inde på Skagen kirkegård i denne forbindelse for at se lidt på fugle. Vi så en flok silkehaler, vindrosler, spurvehøg og en lille hare.

Vi satte Kenni af ved toget 11.45, da han skulle hjem på arbejde. Gustav og jeg kørte hjem og spiste frokost med Kristian. Gustav og jeg gik en tur ud af traktorsporet for at se om vi kunne se nogle Skægmejser, men vi hørte dem kun. Gik på tværs over mod Grenen, og af stranden hjem. Vi så forskellige fugle: Sandløbere 8-10 stykker, islandsk ryle, rødstrubet lom. Senere kørte Gustav, Kristian og jeg over til Den Tilsandede Kirke hvor vi gik lidt rundt. Vi så Skovskade, Korsnæb, Flagspætte, Fuglekonge, Gulspurv, Blåmejse og Sortmejse. Vi nød den medbragte kaffe inden vi kørte hjem igen. Gustav lavede aftensmad. Pitabrød med diverse ting, super godt, mens jeg gjorde lidt rent. Vi kiggede på billeder som Gustav havde taget i løbet af dagen.

Folk: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pedersen, Helga & Kristian Rudolf, Gustav Urth and Kenni Skjødt.

Today was mine and Sarah’s final day at the Fuglestation. At dawn, we headed out with Helga for some seawatching with Knud at World’s End, where we did a short Facebook Live video explaining a little more about how and why we count seabirds. You can view the video on our Facebook page.

The rain set in by mid morning, and so the rest of the day was taken up with administration: cleaning the apartment, Birders’ Club and the Lab, catching up with our last pieces of data entry and finally packing our bags.

This evening (as if by magic!) Gustav appeared again, this time with his friend Kenni for a couple of days stay. Helga and Kristian cooked us a great final evening meal before Gustav of course treated us to another mind-bending magic show which involved eating cards and shooting rope. Next time Gustav I’m hoping for a balloon skægmejse…

Thanks to all the great people we've met here for making it such a memorable month, especially our fellow volunteers and all the local birders for welcoming us so warmly. We hope to see you again one day!

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pederson, Helga & Kristian Rudolf, Gustav Urth and Kenni Skjødt.

Another windy day today so unfortunately no ringing planned. Instead, James and I went out to observe with Rolf for a few hours. James spotted a Bittern (Rørdrum) which was a bit of a surprise; they are not seen here much over the autumn/winter months and this was only the second bird seen this autumn.

After leaving Rolf, we met up with Helga and Kristian and did a tour with them along the beach to the tip and back to the observatory via the tractor track. The sun was shining, the birds were very obliging and we managed to tick off a few new species for Helga and Kristian during our walk. First stop was for Red Breasted Merganser (Toppet Skallesluger) and Purple Sandpiper (Sortgrå Ryle) on the beach and we also spotted our old friend the Knot (Islandsk Ryle) from last night! It was great to watch it feeding on the beach, whilst sporting a new and dainty little silver anklet on its right leg!

James, Helga and Kristian looking at the ringed Knot (Islandsk Ryle) on the beach outside the lighthouse.

Up at the tip, we had a flock of 38 Snow Bunting (Snespurv) which was wonderful as Helga and Kristian had not seen them since being here and the birds came incredibly close to us. We saw a  total of 14 species were seen on our walk.

In the afternoon, James and I had an interview with Simon to talk about our experiences at the observatory and after a feast of tuna pasta and apple crumble, followed a couple of rounds of Shuffleball with Helga and Kristian, it was time for an early night before our last day tomorrow.

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Rolf Christensen, Simon S. Christiansen and Helga & Kristian Rudolf

With a lull in the winds today, expectations were high for seawatching this morning. Often after strong westerlies, seabirds that have been blown into the Kattegat can then be seen passing Grenen on their way back out into the North Sea. Sarah and I joined Knud at World’s End 3 for dawn, and he soon picked up the first Little Auk (Søkonge) of the autumn. In the meantime the wind had dropped just enough for Simon to open the Lighthouse Garden nets for a couple of hours, giving Helga and Kristian another chance to watch some ringing.

As it was our last day with Simon, we all went out for lunch and a beer at the Skagen Bryghus, where we ate some delicious fish dishes and sampled some great ales.

Lunch at the Skagen Bryghus: Simon, Sarah, Kristian, Helga and James

This evening we went out for the final night catching opportunity for Sarah and I. Simon came with us and we decided to target the Purple Sandpipers (Sortgrå Ryle) which have been roosting along the sea defences by the Lighthouse.

Simon and James dazzling waders

We didn’t get lucky with the Purple Sandpipers, but we did manage to net a Knot (Islandsk Ryle)! This time instead of waiting for pitch dark, we went just as dusk was falling, and it worked well as we were able to see and therefore approach the birds much more carefully. After many nights spent unsuccessfully chasing flighty Sanderling (Sandløber), it was great to end our stay with a successful catch.

Success at last! A 1st year Knot (Islandsk Rule)

For dinner, Simon made some delicious (and enormous!) calzones, which we followed up with a movie night by watching The Big Year – fast becoming the Observatory’s signature film it seems!

Birds Rung (3): 1 Knot (Islandsk Ryle), 1 Blue Tit (Blåmejse) and 1 Rødhals (Robin).

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pederson, Simon S. Christiansen and Helga & Kristian Rudolf

Tuesday dawned windy and bright as expected. The wind was so strong that there was definitely no chance of ringing so James and I set out on a long observation walk - through Skagen reserve, out to Vest Fyr (West Lighthouse) and along Nordstrand (North Beach). Not a lot of passerines were brave enough to show their faces in this weather but we did see a Woodcock (Skovsneppe) the first of the season, along the path in the reserve. There were plenty of Fieldfare (Sjagger) and Redwing (Vindrossel) about too.

Sea birds on the other hand are certainly not afraid of the wind, and there were lots of things on the move out on a wild, rolling ocean. An hour's sea watching saw us count 340 migrating Common Scoter (Sortand), 125 migrating Razorbills (Alk) Velvet Scoter (Flojlsand), Fulmar (Mallemuk), Black Guillemot (Tejst), Great Skua (Storkjove) Kittiwake (Ride) and of course plenty of Gannets (Sule). A Leach's Storm Petrel (Stor Stormsvale) and Great Northern Diver (Islom) were also reported by other birdwatchers today.

James being blown around on the beach at Nordstrand

Helga and Kristian took a walk around Elle Krattet, Nordstrand and along the Tractor Track to the tip. They saw a variety of passerines in the more sheltered areas, including Bearded Tit (Skaegmejse). After making us a delicious dinner of chicken meatballs and bulgur wheat salad, they joined us for a spot of night catching. Our sighting of woodcock earlier in the day had made Simon hungry to find one tonight. They typically like to feed on open grassy spaces, so we found ourselves running around local horse fields and football pitches in search of this enigmatic bird. A false alarm (tufts of brown grass) got the adrenaline pumping but ultimately, we came home empty handed. Hopefully Simon will have more luck later in the season when there are more to be found.

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Helga & Kristian Rudolf and Simon S. Christiansen.

This morning Simon began the day with a visit from 17 teaching assistants from University College Nordjylland. Gustav joined them for an introduction to the observatory and despite the wind, Simon also caught a few birds in the Lighthouse Garden nets to demonstrate how we ring birds.

Sarah and I were out observing with Knud again today, where the strong westerly wind had us searching for a sheltered spot in the dunes to try and keep warm and prevent ourselves from being buried under the flying sand! Our reward though was a strong easterly movement of seabirds, with the highlight being a Sooty Shearwater (Sodfarvet Skråpe) which Knud spotted within seconds of setting up his telescope. Other notable sightings were a Great Northern Diver (Islom), and 639 Razorbills (Alk) moving south east over four hours.

Helga and Kristian took a walk out to the tip this morning, seeing seals and a flock of Sanderling (Sandløber). This afternoon they joined Simon and Gustav on a successful mission to add Bearded Tit (Skægmejse) to Gustav’s list. Before he left this evening, Gustav joined us for dinner before treating us to the second impromptu magic show of the day. Although she had defeated him earlier in the day, this time even Sarah “Stone Face” Bedford succumbed to the magician’s gaze! Thanks Gustav – come back soon!

Look into my eyes: Gustav correctly guessing the Skægmejse I had thought of

Birds Rung (3): 1 Robin (Rødhals), 1 Goldcrest (Fuglekonge), and 1 Tree Sparrow (Skovspurv).

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pederson, Gustav Urth, Simon S. Christiansen and Helga & Kristian Rudolf

With no ringers on site today, James and I agreed to meet Knud at World’s End 3 to do some sea observations.  It was a day of Gannets (Sule) and Razorbills (Alk) with large numbers of both. We observed more than 300 Gannets (Sule) resting and feeding where the waters meet in the Kattegat and more than 600 Razorbills (Alk) migrating south-east. Good numbers of Great Skua (Storkjove) , and divers (Løm) were seen and Knud also spotted a first year Caspian gull (Kaspisk Måge).

Part way through the morning we had the lovely sight of 7 Whooper Swans (Sangsvane) flying magestically towards us from the ocean. I love these swans and they are the first to arrive here at Skagen this autumn. A real treat to see. We saw four more on the way back to the lighthouse and others reported seeing larger groups this morning too. At the end of the morning, as the tourists started arriving at the tip, we spotted a man walking a Ferret (Ilder) on a lead across the beach! It’s strange what you see through your binoculars sometimes!

After lunch, Knud came to the observatory to help us a little with data entry in DOF Basen and as with all things administrative, everything ran much more smoothly when we added in coffee and cake! It’s important that we get the data entry part of our observations right and we are grateful to Knud for patiently showing us the correct way to put the work we have done into the database.

There were a few comings and goings today – Jesper left, having seen the Pacific Diver (Stille Havslom) he came for, and also adding a Yellow-Browed Warbler (Hvidbrynet Løvsanger) to his list too! Simon returned from Aalborg, with Gustav, a one-night visitor who is keen on birds and wants to learn more about ringing. He went straight out in the last of the daylight looking for Bearded Tits (Skægmejse) and Long Tailed Tits (Halemejse) – no luck today, but there’s always tomorrow. Helga and Kristian also arrived, they will be staying in the apartment for a week and enjoying all the autumn migration action that Grenen has to offer.

After dinner, James, Gustav, Helga and I went out to the beach in the hope of a successful night catch. The conditions were good for picking up birds with plenty of wind and rain but alas, the birds were smarter and faster than we were. The night-time adventure did provide some comedy for Helga and Gustav though, as James and I fruitlessly sprinted up and down the beach after a group of Sanderlings (Sandløber) we had seen earlier in the day! Perhaps we would have been a bit quicker if we hadn’t eaten all of that cake…

People: Sarah Bedford, James Butcher, Knud Pederson, Gustav Urth, Jesper Madsen, Simon Christiansen and Helga & Kristian Rudolf